Ian Mcnabb - New Brighton Rock (2024) Hi-Res

Lead singer/songwriter of The Icicle Works, Mercury-nominated solo artist. McNabb has made twenty-three studio albums since 1984. He has worked with Peter Buck, Jason Falkner, Crazy Horse, Ringo Starr, Waterboys, Lightning Seeds and Danny Thompson amongst others. Ian lives in Liverpool and performs solo or with a band as and when he can. Fleetwood Mac are one of my favourite bands ever. I decided I needed to do a tribute record to them. They have been through so many changes but the engine room of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood remains constant and radiant. A Lovingly Curated Homage To All Ages of Fleetwood Mac In His Own Distinctive Style.

Apart from the fabulous RESPECTFULLY YOURS album of his favourite songs in 2016, I don’t remember pretty much any other cover versions in Ian McNabb’s back catalogue; and I own everything he’s ever recorded.
Unlike myself Ian has always been a vocal supporter of Fleetwood Mac on Social Media over the years, whereas I never have been, apart from snobbishly saying ‘I preferred the Peter Green version’ over the zillion-selling Soft Rock legends that evolved.
That said, apart from hearing a couple of songs on the wireless over the years I’ve never actually listened to an actual album by them; simply judging them because their albums usually ended up alongside Dire Straits, Robbie Williams, Adele etc. in collections of friends and family who didn’t *appreciate music the way I do.
So in some ways this album should have been a challenge for me; but simply because it’s Ian McNabb and me not knowing most of the original versions means I can listen as if every song was brand new and out of the box.
The sequencing seemed a bit odd at first, as I presumed he’d probably go ‘oldest first’; but our favourite contrarian starts with probably Fleetwood Mac II’s signature song Big Love … and it’s amazing! There’s a touch of Prog in the arrangement, especially the opening few bars, but once Mac’s distinctive and powerful voice comes into the fray it sounds akin to something the Icicle Works could have recorded circa Blind, but there’s a crispness in the mix here that makes it very much a 2024 recording.
This is followed by a mend bending rendition of The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown), a totally bonkers song that sounds as good today as it ever did, with Mac slowing it down a touch and adding his very own guitar interludes that nod to the genius of Peter Green, but never copy.
There are a couple more songs from this era, with Man of The World becoming an even more sensitive and beautiful song than I remembered, with McNabb seemingly channelling his inner Scott Walker and Ciaron Bells providing Gary Walker style harmonies as Ian slides in some beautiful guitar moments when you least expect them.
The finale Drifting comes from that same era, and I’m 99.9% sure I’ve never heard it before; but I’m mighty happy that Ian McNabb has included it here as like so much that goes before it, Ian makes it his very own by dusting it down and giving it a coat of varnish to make it something he should be very proud of recording.
Another rarity that Mac has uncovered and re-polished is Hypnotized originally by the Bob Welch incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and this particularly atmospheric rendition is easily mistaken as an Ian McNabb song of the ages and could fit in anywhere in the last 30 years.
Now we delve deep into Fleetwood Mac II territory and it’s fair to say that this selection of songs must be very personal to our man, as none are instantly recognisable (as singles?) to my untutored ears.
I can’t think of the McNabb song it reminds me of, but the arrangement on Say You Love Me is pure Ian McNabb using dashes of psychedelia to aid the bouncy melody and chorus, neither of which sound even close to the original (I YouTubed it!) and it’s a similar story with Peacekeeper too, which I’m told is one of Lyndsay Buckingham’s finest songs by my mate Charlie.
This is where I go into the Fun Zone, trying to select a Favourite Song from a damn fine collection of songs.
The punchy Gold Dust Woman was an early contender with Ian presumably singing about someone who was very close to him at one time the way his voice errs on the passionately angry counter while his guitar playing seethes while drummer Tony McGuigan and bassist Jim Sangster keeps time like Kenny Jones and Ronnie Lane would in their prime.
But I’m going for another rarity from recent years, the fabulous broken-hearted ballad Storms which is surely something McNabb is singing in a desperately controlled fashion while strumming an acoustic alongside Ciaron Bell’s desperately emotional piano playing. Yes; I think that this is my Favourite Song … but that could change tomorrow.
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, this is a fabulous collection of songs delicately selected and arranged to suit Ian McNabb’s voice and, dare I say it … temperament. I’m not sure where it fits in his Top 10 or 20 albums of all time, but I do know I will play it fairly regularly over the next few months.
Ian McNabb fans will like like this simply because it’s an Ian McNabb album and will love and cherish it accordingly; but Fleetwood Mac fans?
I’m less sure there’s anything here for them as these versions are intricately different from both the Blues of the Peter Green and Bob Weir eras or the pomposity of the latest incarnation … but that’s their loss.